St. Louis River Walkers 2019 season: Is a repeat in the Cards?

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St. Louis overcame a 3-0 defict by scoring eight times over the final three innings to grab an 8-3 win over Madison at Comiskey Park.
A two-run homer from Francisco Lindor off River Walkers starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks in the third inning was the big blow in the Muskies grabbing a 3-0 lead.
Stifled for six innings, St. Louis came alive and tied it with three runs in the top of the seventh.
Adeiny Hechavarria struck first with an RBI double off Jose A. Ramirez.
Albert Almora chased home the other two runs with a two-out double off Justin Wilson.
The Walkers really went to town against the Madison bullpen in the ninth.
Reliever Corey Knebel walked the inning's first three batters before allowing a sacrifice fly to sacrifice fly Manny Pina, snapping the 3-3 tie.
Albert Almora and Michael Conforto both had RBI singles. Rhys Hoskins had a run-scoring double.

A run also scored on a Jared Miller wild pitch. Miller was on the mound for the inning's final four runs.
The Walkers lost second baseman Jin-hwan Chung left the game with an injury after a collision on the bases.
The prognosis is not expected to be good.

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River Walkers second baseman Jin-hwan Chung has been placed on the 10-day disabled list after suffering a separated shoulder during an 8-3 win over Madison on July 27.
He is expected to miss six weeks.

An off-season free-agent signing from South Korea, Chung has really come on after a slow start. He is batting .235 with eight homers and 39 RBIs.
Also going on the 10-day disabled list is third baseman Nicky Delmonico who suffered back spasms during a game against Madison on July 26.
He is expected to miss a week and his been placed on the 10-day disabled list.
Delmoinco is batting .259 with 19 homers and 67 RBIs.
Coming up from Memphis will be third baseman J.D. Davis and utility infielder Christian Arroyo.
It marks the second call-up to the majors in 2019 for both players.
St. Louis is still awaiting word on starting pitcher Jacob deGrom who was injured in the same game as Delmonico.

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St. Louis scored twice in each of the first two innings and held on for a 4-3 win over the Madison Muskies at Comiskey Park.
Michael Conforto took Aaron Siegers deep for a two-run homer in the first inning. Adeiny Hechavarria had an RBI triple and scored on a sacrifice fly from Carlos Martinez in the second, to make it 4-0.
But Martinez would not be around much longer, leaving in the bottom of the second inning after taking line drive off his foot.
It would be up to the River Walkers' bullpen to hold off the Muskies the rest of the way.
Nick Senzel made it interesting with a three-run homer off Jerry Blevins.
But Phil Maton (2.1 innings), Chaz Roe (1 IP) and Kenoe Kela (1 IP) combined to silence Madison the rest of the way to grab the win.
Kela handled the ninth for his 20th save.

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Milwaukee's Steven Wright tossed eight scoreless innings and Blake Treinen handled the ninth as the Keg Lifters shutout St. Louis 4-0 at Busch Stadium.
Wright allowed just three hits over his eight innings, while striking out four and walking none,
Wright, who relies on a knuckleball, had thrown 113 pitches when he was allowed to bat in the top of the ninth.
However, the Lifters opted to pull him in the bottom of the inning, with Treinen pitching around a walk to close it out.
Milwaukee handed Aaron Nola (11-3) just his third loss of the season.
A three-run fourth inning put the Lifters in command. Addison Russell had a two-run double.The third run scored on a Ben Gamel ground out.
Austin Hedges hit a solo homer off Brad Boxberger in the seventh.

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The River Walkers got the bad news they expected on the status of starting pitcher Jacob deGrom learning he is expected to miss up to 13th months with a torn rotatar cuff after leaving a July 23 game against Madison after just 13 pitches.
The 2018 NL Cy Young winner after going 14-5 with a 3.07 ERA, the 2018 campaign had been a tough for deGrom who had gone 10-9 with a 4.68 ERA before being diagnosed with his injury.
deGrom will be placed on the 60-day disabled list with Luiz Gohara being called up from AAA Memphis.
Gohara is 7-4 with a 2.74 ERA for the Redbirds this season.
In 2018, he went 5-1 with a 4.40 ERA in eight starts during callups to St. Louis.

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St. Louis starting pitcher Trevor Bauer threw seven shutout innings and Michael Conforto hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to help the River Walkers to a 1-0 win over Milwaukee at Busch Stadium.
Bauer scattered six hits over his seven innings, striking out nine and walking none.
Andrew Miller handled a scoreless eighth inning and got the first out of the ninth before giving way to Keone Kela.

Kela retired the only two batters he faced for his 21st save.
Conforto scored the game's only run with his one-out homer off Lifters starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi.
A native of nearby Highland, Ill., Odorizzi was impressive allowing just the one run on five hits over 5.1 innings. He struck out three and walked none.

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Just a day after learning it has lost 2018 Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom for over a year with a torn rotator cuff, the St. Louis River Walkers have learned that recent acquisition Carlos Martinez will be lost for three weeks with a sprained ankle after taking a line drive off his leg in a July 25 game against Madison.
With a 7.5 game lead in the division, but just five in the NL, no move has to be made, with just four days before the trade deadline
For now, Manuel Souliman will be called up from AAA Memphis.
It marks his second time in the majors, although the first game was just for one outing.
He is 6-5 with a 4.98 ERA this season for the Memphis Redbirds.

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An Addison Russell home run to lead off the top of the eighth inning off Andrew Miller staked Milwaukee to a 1-0 lead and Yulieski Gurriel hit a three-run shot off John Curtiss in the ninth to help carry the Keg Lifters to a 4-1 win.
The game was a pitcher's duel until the late innings.

Milwaukee starter Andrew Triggs pitched five shutout innings and got scoreless relief from three relievers until Adeiny Hechavarria homered off Shane Greene to begin the bottom of the ninth.
Blake Treinen got the final three outs for his second save.
Pressed into a spot start because of injuries to Jacob deGrom and Carlos Martinez, Shane Dawson tossed 5.1 scoreless innings before being relieved. He allowed four hits while striking out four and walking a pair.

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MBL news: Week 14 report

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St. Louis' Albert Almora hit a three-run home run off Rockford's Jorge Rondon with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the River Walkers to a 7-4 win at Busch Stadium.
Carlos Asauje drew a lead-off walk and Adeiny Hechavarria singled before Almora hit his fifth homer of the season.
Rockford had whiffed on a big chance of its own in the top of the 10th loading the bases with one out against Walkers closer Keone Kela.
But Kela struck out Yonder Alonso and Yoenis Cespedes wiggle from the jam.
A two-run homer from Andrew Benintendi in the first inning of Lightning starter Mike Leake staked St. Louis to a 2-0 lead.
Leake, however, evened it with a two-run homer off Manuel Soliman in the fifth.
Rockford's Billy McKinney had a pinch-hit single off St. Louis lefty Jerry Blevins to put his team in front. Eddie Rosario followed with another run scoring single, pushing it to 4-2.
But the Walkers evened in the bottom of the eighth. Adeiny Hechavarria hit an RBI triple off Brad Brach. He later scored on an Akeel Morris wild pitch.

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St. Louis paid big money in the offseason to sign veteran left-hander Andrew Miller to a one-year deal to be a shutdown lefty/part-time closer during the 2019 season.
Over the past month or so, it has not worked out well.
For the second time in as many appearnces, Allen took a loss as he allowed Rockford to score what proved-to-be the winning run in the eighth inning of a 5-4 victory at Busch Stadium.
To his credit, Miller did come in at 66 pecent, but that still should not be an excuse for his inability to retire any of the three left-handed hitters he faced.
Tied 4-4 with one out, Phil Maton had struck out Nolan Arenado to open the inning, Allen gave up a triple to Adam Eaton. An RBI single to Eddie Rosario and another single to Taylor Lindsey before being removed.
By taking the loss, Miller dropped to 3-3 for the season with a 4.66 ERA.
The Lightning jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a pair of runs in the fourth inning and single tally in the fifth on a solo homer from Yonder Alonso off Walkers starting pitcher Aaron Nola.
St. Louis got all of those runs back and more in the sixth, when Michael Conforto jacked a grand slam off Rockford starter David Price.
But the Lightning tied it in the seventh against Nola. Wade Wass reaching on a two-out double and scoring when Amed Rosario followed with a single.

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The St. Louis River Walkers completed a deal with the Ann Arbor Wolf Pack just hours before the trade deadline, landing center fielder Ender Incirate for minor league reliever Jonathan Holder and first baseman Peter Alonso.
While Albert Almora has played better in recent weeks, his overall offense and defense isn't what Inciarte brings to the table.
As Inciarte is expected to become the team's primary center fielder and lead-off hitters.
For the season, Inciarte is batting .326 with eight homers and 45 RBIs.
Almora is hitting .258 with five homers and 36 RBIs.
In Holder and Alonso, Ann Arbor is gaining a reliever who played a key role in the Walkers' 2019 title run -- but has struggled this season leading to a demotion to the minors -- and a slugging first base prospect.
In 2018, Holder pitched in 58 big-league games posting a 1-1 record with two saves and an 2.53 ERA.
In 2019, Holder got into 35 games, going 2-2 with a save and 6.05. He appears to have righted himself at Memphis -- where he was 1-0 in nine games with three saves and 2.16 save -- but the right-handed depth of the St. Louis bullpen was making it tough for him to get back into the majors.
Alonso has been held back by the production has gotten from first baseman Rhys Hoskins.
Over the past two seasons, Alonso has hit 56 homers for the Redbirds with 191 RBIs and batting averages of .343 (2019) and .313 (2018).

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Rockford's Yoenis Cespedes snapped a 6-6 tie with a single off Chaz Roe in the seventh inning and the Lightning went on for an 8-6 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium.
Roe had hit Amed Rosario with a pitch to open the inning and then allowed a double to Yonder Alonso to bring Cespedes to the plate.
The Lightning added an insurance run in the eighth as the struggles continued from St. Louis lefty Andrew Miller.

Coming into the game with one out, he allowed a single to Taylor Lindsey. He then scored when pinch-hitter Billy McKinney tripled.
Through the first five innings, the two teams combined to hit six home runs.
Alonso, Rosario and Travis d'Arnaud all went deep for Rockford, while Andrew Benintendi homered twice for St. Louis while Michael Conforto also contributed a long ball.
At one point, the Lightning led 6-0 but the Walkers rallied.
They tied it at 6-6 in the bottom of the sixth on a double by Adeiny Hechavarria off reliever Brian Clark.

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MBL news: Players and Pitchers of the Month for July

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MBL news: Rookies of the Month and standings for July

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MBL news: AL leaders at end of July

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MBL news: NL leaders at end of July

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Walkers news: Team statistics at end of July

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Player of the Month: Outfielder Andrew Benintendi: In 25 games, he batted .327 with seven home runs and 20 RBIs. He scored a total of 17 runs while boasting an on-base percentage of .375 and slugging percentage of .615.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Right-hander Trevor Bauer: In five starts, Bauer went 3-0 with an ERA of 4.66. He pitched a total of 29 innings, during which he struck out 33 and put together a WHIP of 1.07.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Right-hander Chaz Roe: Pitched in 13 games posting a record of 2-3 with an 1.88 ERA. He threw a total of 14.1 innings, during which he struck out 24 and boasted a WHIP of 0.71.

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Walkers news: Player development report for July